Show Reviews

Set 1: A very well-constructed first set, anchored by a sweet Reba and a dark, evil SOAM that conjures the spirit of 1993. This is how you'd want a first set to go without a jam like the Gin from two nights ago - high-energy, good song selection, and your hopes raised for a major second set.

Set 2: Let's just go jam by jam, shall we?

CDT: The sort of jam you hope for every time you go to a Phish show, combining the constant shape-shifting of the Mann Fuego with the effortless flow of, well, the SPAC Fuego. It doesn't take long for the band to slide into a beautiful major-key groove at Page's prodding, and he naturally takes the lead as Trey alternates between soloing and meaty chords. Fish takes things down to a lower boil as the playing gets more contemplative, Page switching to electric piano, Mike hitting on a catchy bassline, then Trey takes over with some heavier soloing and Fish goes to Worcester-light stomping beat mode as Page starts delving into his effects. The resulting jam sounds very 70s-influenced, especially Page's organ work. Note: at this point, we're only halfway in.

Trey starts wailing away on very familiar chords - I said LxL in the show thread, others think it's the Mike's Song climax - and suddenly the jam turns dark and inwards on itself, a plinko-esque jam emerging as things go weird and off-kilter (Trey actually plays a mutated version of something he was playing earlier in a neat callback). The jam opens back up and Fish (who is as much a champion here as the 7/31/13 Tweezer) finally gets to pick up the pace as things build towards the jam's second peak. Another strange effect makes its way out of the mix (Trey here?) as Page takes over solo duties - btw, check out Mike's almost Latino-influenced bass work - and then Trey comes back and leads things into another darker realm as Page returns to the piano. Some loops start flying '99 style and the jam now takes on an eerie feeling, with Mike finally getting off his meatball effect, and things seem to be winding down. But there's still time for one last segment, with Trey playing repeating chords and Page laying down some warm notes as Fish pushes things forward yet again. The jam finally reaches a close, and Trey quickly cranks up Light.

Whew. What a ride. Easily the jam of 2014 so far, compelling all throughout and as experimental as 20 years ago, and certainly enough for the band to coast on for the rest of the sh-

What's that? We're not done yet?

Light: Trey starts building some tension out of the usual Light jam, hitting on some minor-key chords, but Page pushes for major-key instead and we briefly get that as Trey pulls out a charming as hell St. Thomas tease. The jam strips away as Page and Trey have a miniature duet, then things suddenly devolve into free-jazz as Fish pounds away on his kit...but only briefly, as Trey begins to build up some momentum and the band follows him towards the sky, culminating in an absolutely *superb* peak that feels organic and earned. It's seriously a thing of beauty, so perfectly reached through communication with all 4 members, and caps off maybe the best Light since its glory year of 2012. So that's 40 glorious minutes of jamming, and certainly the band has earned any victory l-

What's that? We're *still* not done yet?

Tweezer: Out of the usual Tweezer jam, things suddenly come to a brief halt as Fish drops the tempo to a crawl and Trey pulls out some monster-movie effects (I thought I was having an acid trip listening to the stream, and I've never even taken acid), then a more relaxed funky jam takes its place, until Trey takes the lead and we start building towards *another* big-time peak. This is joyous, anthemic stuff, exactly what you'd want to hear as the closing jam of nearly an hour of exceptional music, and the return to the main Tweezer theme to close things out is a perfect capper to the Tweezer proper. A damn good Tweezer, all in all.

And *now* we're done with the meat of the set. Wading and Sing Monica give the crowd a chance to relax, and a typically beautiful Slave closes out a monster set, certainly one of the best since the return, and a tremendous ending to a great three-night run.

Last night's show was one of the best I've ever seen. The crowd was completely different than the other three nights, more so than the usual Saturday / Sunday turnover. Everything felt right from the beginning. Rain was in the forecast, but it never came during the show. At Slave's triumphant peak, a brisk breeze came pulsing through the island, more that any other time all weekend, proving that on some magical nights, Phish can even control the weather.
Everyone I talked to and overheard was floored by the connectedness of the band and crowd last night. This wasn't a raging, high five on the way out show, which makes it more impressive in my mind. Free form type II amoeba goodness for virtually the entire set. Every jamming style was explored. Unbridaled passion and emotion was on full display. My wife and I cried hugging each other during the Tweezer jam.
Thank you, Phish. Even after 19 years, you still continue to show that anything is possible. After a month in NYC being moved by some of the best art the world has to offer, both my wife and I agree there's nothing better than a night of Phish where everything comes together.

Relentless: 7/13/14
A tour, year, era, band just went to the next level

“It takes a few moments of whirling around, Before your feet finally leave the ground, And fending off fears and hearing the call, And finally waiting for nothing at all.”

I want to say “I have no words.” But, of course, that doesn’t work here. I also want to announce, “Best of 3.0.” But, honestly, we all will need to re-listen to figure that out. All I can say is that right now, as I write in the wake of this show, I’m experiencing the natural ‘high’ of Phish. That feeling of adrenaline and giddiness when you know they’ve done something truly monumental and unexpected. This second set contained some of the most “hooked-up”, patient, and downright celebratory Phish improvisation I have ever heard. And, that came in the wake of what many said was the best first set of 2014. As I mentioned in my first review, I can only afford two shows this tour. My first is CMAC on Tuesday. I have high hopes, but seriously how can tonight be topped?

Let me quickly recap what was a really solid first set — feel free to skip ahead.

“Sand” —This was the first “Sand” opener ever? That seems insane?! In any case, I think “Sand” has actually remained relatively “in the box” in 3.0. Sure there are the legendary Camden 09 and Dicks 12 (and probably a few more) versions, but usually it is a straight ahead rock-funk solo over the Sand groove from Ernesto. So, if I’m going to get one of those (which last night was), then I think the First Set opener placement is excellent (as opposed to set 2). High energy, funky, nice jam. Great start.

“Winterqueen” — I’m not sure where this song should be played. Doesn’t feel right in the two slot.

“Reba” — Now we’re talking. Besides a guitar-fall apart at the end of the ‘fugal’ segment (where Page and Trey play fast melodies apart in time) this version was well played, crisp and had your generally awesomely beautiful “Reba” jam-peak (just don’t compare it to 90s peaks). This is my favorite Phish song (just as a song — and not for potential exploratory jams)— the combination of classical composed material and the melodic, bliss-jam is just perfect Phish to me. I think the tightness of this version was a sign of how locked in they were on this particular evening; a sign of things to come.

“Birds of a Feather” — Third of the tour, I think? Seems too close to “Sand”— minor key funky jam with a Trey peak. Not the greatest pick for setlist diversity, but fun nonetheless.

“Water in the Sky” — I wish they’d go back to the slow version. I love it as a slow country song with a Johnny Cash like ‘train roll’ bass line. Nevertheless, a fine standard version here.

“Possum” seems to rarely end up mid-set like this. I like it. Page got a solo (which he always should) and he absolutely tore this shit up on the organ. Trey’s solo then lifted the jam into its normal blues/lunacy of Possum — employing staccato licks, with flurries of dissonant and chromatic notes.

“Runaway Jim” — Odd placement here (really you could say that’s three in a row of Phish’s particular take on ‘country-blues’) but one of my all time favorites and I’ll take it. This jam started off quiet and patient, eventually built to — what else? — Trey octave phrases. I just had a hypothesis: Perhaps Trey’s sit in with Soule Monde on May 1st spurred this fascination with octave jazz phrasings. He plays them constantly during that set. The jam then got weirder, as Trey worked his loops a bit, to create a candidly awkward Jim-peak. But, all the while, Page was going absolutely off on the piano.

Next, “Bouncing” went into “Maze” for a ‘classic’ pairing. Page’s solo was, as usual, total fire. The way Page plays off Trey’s chordal, often chromatic and dissonant “comping” (in a jazz way) is how this solo constantly builds tension until the mid-song eruption. Trey’s solo was played with more authority than usual in 3.0, but to be honest this will always be a song for-mid 90s Trey.

“Split Open and Melt” — This has become a very nice ‘old school’ Phish set. This was your standard awesome dissonant/crazy “Melt.” The craziness of these jams is comparable to what we’ve heard in the SPAC “Limb” or the Randalls “Ghost”. Except “Melt” delivers this lunacy every time. It very early exits the “Melt” structure: Trey is playing hypnotic, repeated phrases, as Fishman and Page go wild around the building dissonance. As the loops start to layer, Fish and Mike are playing these truncated rhythms and Page continues to solo furiously on the piano. Then Trey starts singing the loops he his employing and the tension builds some more — until you can hear Page hint at the “return” to the ending of the jam and Trey quickly follows. Great version.

OK, how to sum up this set? Relentless. Even after the Tahoe Tweezer, Phish took a break and there was really no other noteworthy jams. After the 28 minute Chalkdust last night, Phish threw down 27 more minutes of top notch exploratory improvisation.

This monumental Chalk Dust needs to be broken down in parts. I hear four distinct sections. (1) Buttery bliss section (5:20-11:30)— Since this is my favorite place Phish jams go, this is a good start. This section was highlighted by incessant melodic work by Page while Trey comped chords. Once Trey found a beautiful melody, Page switched to organ to give it that ‘soaring’ quality. This section petered out with more chords and pretty arpeggios. Then the jam quickly turned minor with a blues lick by Trey at 10:27. It got dark and rhythmic for a few seconds until Trey switched the chords to a major feel and (2) — Calypso groove section (11:30-15:32) — We’ve often heard this style in “Light” but it is upbeat island music, but also densely rhythmic. Trey played some punchy chords, then some light melodies, then he found a really anthemic chord progression (14:25) that he emphasized a couple times as Page got on the piano. Next (at 14:48) , he oddly switched the key of those chords (in a a way that totally worked) and it sounded to some like the end “power chords” of Mike’s Song. To my hear, it sound exactly like the opening chords of “Limb By Limb.” (maybe Trey was planning a ripchord and then remembered they had played it this run!?) The jam started dissipating a bit into melodic flourishes before turning dark again. (3) Rhythmic textures (15:33-21:34) — This section was groove based established out of the rhythms in the Calypso section. It started out with dark rhythmic bursts that established a relentless groove between Mike and Fish and Page on the clavinet. Trey then turned the chords more light and major (again) and emphasized some more pretty melodic themes. (4) Loopy space jam(21:35-25:30) , Trey stopped playing guitar and initiated his digicrap pedals into “liftoff” mode. Underneath the loops, Page was pounding away on this piano in ways so melodic it contrasted with the dissonant loops well. At 22:43, Trey comes back to the guitar to play some droning chords, only to abandon it for loops again. Page is now on the organ and the groove is getting quieter. Eventually (24:14), Mike inserted a repetitive melodic phrase that forced Big Red back to his guitar to play some syncopated arpeggios. At 25: 30, Mike’s melodies take over and Trey settles into the coda section where he is simply playing this earnestly beautiful chord progression on rhythm guitar with Page and Mike providing the melodic color. Feedback — into end at 28:27.

Where there ever more appropriate lyrics sung, “It takes a few moments of whirling around, Before your feet finally leave the ground, And fending off fears and hearing the call, And finally waiting for nothing at all.” One might expect this “Light” jam to not do that much after the epic journey we just witnessed, but don’t forget this “Light.” It is an amazing and unique version. At 6:20 it is “out” of Light per usual, and it is quiet and “Hood”-like. We get the Sonny Rollins St. Thomas tease at 6:43. As @mrminer noted on twitter, this was jazzy-ass set. The following minute is your typical rhythmically upbeat type ii Light jam. It has not been noted yet on Phish.net, but at 8:14 Trey starts emphasizing a chord and Mike goes into a descending 4 note chromatic bass line. Trey picks it up, and here we are: Mind Left Body jam!!!! In my view, this is simple a four note chromatic descending melody (which is what is played here). It is not really a hard and fast composed melody. Well, Phish took this MLB jam for a ride and built and built it to peak #1 at 9:47, then laid back for a bit before Trey initiated some machine-gun arpeggios at 10:05 to create a stunningly celebratory and amazing peak #2 that finally erupted at 10:35. The jam fizzled out and before we knew it, we were in “Tweezer.” Wow.

One of these days “Tweezer” will open a set — and then really watch out. But, this 16 minute version is the best of the tour thus far. RELENTLESS. The funk section is dark and nasty, and by 8:46 the band switches gears to more melodic rock territory. By 9:25 a slow chord progression has been established and by 10:25 that has patiently developed into a full on rock theme. Trey is trilling underneath this as Page provides piano flourishes. By 11:10 the trills have taken on extra urgency and at 11:28 we get a full on glorious rock peak — a full on celebration of the previous 50 minutes of music. This peak continues for the next 3 minutes (!) until, on a dime, the band kicks back into the “Tweezer” theme. And, we get the full on classic slowed down Tweezer ending of days past. A nice touch (even if it gets sloppy around 14:59 where I think Fish thought they just were going to end it).

I think “crying” became the theme-reaction to “Wading” next (not sad Coventry tears, but joyful celebratory tears). Trey’s heartfelt solo is a nice coda to the incredible three song jam-fest preceding it. “Sing Monica” was probably needed next simply because they will not do a 3 night run without going through most of Fuego (although Wombat? Didn’t Have That???).

“Slave to the Traffic Light” — is perfectly placed here. I have often said, after exploratory jam-fests such as this we need a Slave or a (type i) Hood to reflect and celebrate in the most soaring, bliss-jam way possible. This Slave is incredibly patient and sparse (Trey plays sustained notes rather than melodic phrases) until the peak kicks in. Its patience is a direct result of the patient jamming that came before it.

Encore: #Line are you fucking kidding me? Just kidding. They could play “Secret Smile” here and it would be fine. I think #line was not needed after “Wading”, “Sing Monica” and “Slave” all have pretty melodic solos, but who can complain. “Tweezer Reprise” takes us home in proper fashion.

Phish giddiness. That’s what last night created. While I’ve felt this a lot in the last year (7/31, 10/29, 10/31, 12/29), I’m not sure I’ve heard such a sustained run of Phish brilliance over a 55 minute section; that is what we heard last night. It was truly relentless and amazing. When I got my CMAC tickets in March, I predicted it would be the “sleeper” show. Way out of the way in upstate NY before Phish turns firmly to the midwest in Michigan and Chicago. We’ll see if there’s anyway they can top this past weekend. The Randalls run is surely in the running for the best run of 3.0, or easily the best run since Dicks 2012. Amazing. And, so much tour left to go!

This was my 80th show, but the first time I brought my 5 year old daughter. We were set up towards the back half of the field so there was plenty of room, and watching her run and skip and dance and twirl and throw glow sticks into the air, all the while squealing with delight while the band was playing a 28 MINUTE CHALKDUST is a lifetime highlight for me.

Note: This review is my person experience of the show and not an analysis of the music itself. I think we all know how the music was.

What a show. Hands down the best show I have been in attendance for, and the circumstances could not have been better. My buddy has an in with a venue staffing company, and had called me the night before asking if I wanted to work the show. "Wait, so you're telling me that not only do I get to go for free, but you'll actually pay me to be there? Absolutely!"

I got there a 2pm to start working, which was very relaxed and mainly consisted of just sitting around until 4 when the doors opened. I was able to chill out and watch the soundcheck, which was Wombat played 3 or 4 times, one of which had Fish rapping over the jam part, not the normal Wombat rap but something else that I had never heard. Pretty terrible but pretty fun. He must have realized this because after they finished he proclaimed "That was my rapping debut, thank god it's over with." Also there was some decent banter between the band and the sound guys, something about how they were gonna just fuck with all the levels during the show to mess with the sound guys. The band seemed happy and relaxed, a good sign for the show to come

About an hour before showtime I got moved from the water tent right next to the stage where I had been working to one of the Beers of the Boroughs tents all the way in the back of the venue. It all worked out though, as I had I clear sightline to the stage and could still hear the music fine, and probably at a decibel level low enough to not give me tinnitus. Also I got to have a couple of beers for free; the Vlad the ImPale Ale was my favorite of what I had. Side note: it never ceases to amaze me how much beer phans can drink; at one point I poured basically an entire keg rapid fire without closing the tap once just to keep up with the sales.

First set was solid, nothing too mind-blowing but very well played with good song selection.

I worked out a deal with the tent I was at in which I would work with them through the set break rush and then they would set me free for the second set, as I had only gotten moved there to help out with the big rushes anyway. As Chalkdust started up I made the trek towards the stage, but not before grabbing one last beer. As the band started to go into the jam, I was feeling pretty tipsy, and got some random blunt passed to me. I don't do drug drugs, only booze and weed, so this put me in the absolute perfect mindset for what was to come. I decided early on in Chalkdust that I would check back in with the water tent to see if they needed me to do anything (I was working, after all) in 10 minutes...whenever they start the next song...guess its gonna be a half hour.

As Light started up I made my way to the tent; they were fine and knew that phish is my favorite band so they told me to just go have fun. Already feeling great from the epic Chalkdust, this made me absolutely euphoric. I made my way back into the crowd just in time for the Light jam to start. At this point it begins to fully hit me: not only am I seeing this set as if I had a ticket, but I'm still on the clock and getting paid for this. Holy shit Im literally living my dream right now. During the Tweezer everything fully came together: the circumstances of how I ended up there, the epicness of the set, the incredible hose peak that was taking place in front of me...I had never in my previous 41 shows shed a tear from sheer joy, but I guess theres a first time for everything. The rest of the set was the icing on the jam-cake that the band had just cooked up.

I left the show sober from substances but high as a kite on the music. Its funny, I remember thinking to myself on my way to NY, "maybe I listen to too much phish and I can't fully appreciate it in the moment anymore." Then this show happened.

First 5 of the summer. Song placement has been superb this summer. Really nice first set but again it is all about the second. The CDT with about 100 teases really got things going. Tough to call Light a "ripchord" when it goes into a fantastic tweezer. This is where song placement takes over. Velvet sea is incredible and reminded me how great of a cool off song it is. Who would have thought Monica and slave would work so well??? Great show. Worth the 5.

Last gig of my seven show run this summer. This is probably the most fun I've ever had at a Phish show out of the 33 I've been to (including 2/28/03, IT and some very solid 3.0 gigs). I honestly feel like it was the best constructed and most soul enriching performance I've seen by any band. Ever. The experience of this show was beyond the words, rankings, comparisons and hyperbole we frequently toss around with this band. On a night like 7/13/14, all of Phish's history melts away and we are simply left in the now with a wondrous glow. Enjoy this while it lasts. We are truly in the Golden Age.

There might be some, rightfully so, that will be able to describe the technical aspects of what is to my ears the best show of the year by anybody, bar none. That would not be me. Rather, I rather try to tackle the daunting task to describe to you what my heart felt last night. And it is telling me that NYC was the epicenter of the musical universe. That some my friends felt that they had never felt the full spectacle of glorious sound and lights bathing us in its regality such as they felt it last night and that would pretty much sum up my feelings, too. That I'd never attended a "Festival" show until last night (only NYC show attended, had to) because the axiom "never miss a Sunday show" (thanks Chris Kramer… ) was in full force last night. So for those in attendance such as myself that believe in such a phrase was beyond rewarded by the band with an unbelievably patient and fully fleshed out performances of whatever they chose to play. That the song selection was virtually impeccable to my eyes and its execution virtually flawless to my ears was really beside the point. Their ability to listen to each other was paramount to creating the wall of sound. This band was fueled by the individual performances, combining them to create something that was aimed for the common good of the music. And our ears and eyes. They played for themselves and their enjoyment. We 20,000 or so just happened to be standing around to hear and watch their loving life and, just as importantly, loving themselves and loving playing with each other in the musical sense. I believe one did not have to see or hear this performance, rather if you were lucky enough to be in the middle of NYC, on an island literally surrounded by all four of the five major boroughs, you could just feel the energy as it bristled off the stage. No stone was left unturned, they unleashed every aspect of their legacy upon us. Starting the show with an unprecedented Sand opener, they sent the signal out at the start that this was not going to be any mere show but proof positive that in their 31st year that if anybody thought that their might be some sort of soft underbelly that came along with Fuego the album that they were intent to prove, once again, how their love of their fans and their self-respect of each other can and will drive this band well into the 21st Century. This show to my ears would be considered a stand-out in any era. I believe time will be most kind to 7/13/14. I've already listened to the memorex of the show but really did not need to hear it again because last night is seared into every fiber of my being. Life for one night was freely lived and enjoyed. And Phish reminded me, once again, why they are the best expletive deleted band in the universe. It is going to be tough not to wear out the memorex of this one. So in conclusion the best endorsement of this show is simply to suggest that one and all download the show. Download cost: about $10 sans physical ticket. The joys of the play back: Priceless! Phish to my ears and evidently to the multitude around me that raged it as hard as I did won. Again. And life is looking pretty damm good to those that are going to see shows for the rest of the year. Phish unleashed the musical beast last night. Because all they want us is to be is to be happy happy. See you on the other side (that would be Merriweather next for me) of this continuing and ever-evolving journey.

Overall a great show. great crowd (especially compared to saturday) Great weather! instead of the expected rain we got a constant cool breeze all night long.

first set. lots of great type I versions. SAND opener was a good sign. WINTER QUEEN quickly mellowed things… but REBA, BIRDS and WATER got the energy back on track pretty quick

trey lost it a little in the composed part of REBA and didn’t really get it back, but the jam itself is well played. In this reba and in most of the show, fishman is the mvp... i think the small set is getting him to do more with less... especially on the snare drum. whistling ending was nice.

POSSUM got the crowd very pumped... and JIM got me very pumped. and i always love BOUNCING. MAZE is always kinda boring to me. but overall everything in this set was very well played, with the exception of a rough patch in reba.

MELT deserves conversation. it quickly drifts into quasi space funk territory. page doing some very dissonant piano comping, and trey doing lots of staccato delay infused stuff, while mike and fish get into some rhythmic adventures. at 8:05 they drift closer to a more inside approach. then at about 9:00 trey starts whammying, and it works great in this section... lots of fills from fishman while mike lays back while it bills. builds with some wooing along with the whale (by trey? definitely not the crowd) then gets to some weird places, treys new tape delay is put to good use... than at 11:00 minutes it begins to journey home to the melt groove. overall great version. i think i prefer the new years version still but this melt and the nye version both show that this song is finally heading back in the right direction.

set break...

CDT. a monster. but is it as good as everyone says? does length alone = epic? these are the questions at hand.
starts with typical cdt jamming and then
5:20 - modulates from Em to D major.
6:40 - mike and trey start playing D to Em back and fourth. very happy section ensues.
8:10 - drops down a bit, but fishman keeps the groove pumping. slowly drifts to a lull and then into a more tribal beat from fishman and some plinko stuff happens around 9:15.
9:50 - trey starts using an interesting scale, mixolydian with a flat 6th (gives us some cool harmonic major lines) building tension.
10:40 - the first spot i was worried about a possibly abortion... and i think the whole band may have been thinking it too. but as the jam fades to nothing trey just rips a nice rocking line in F# minor and the funk continues. this time dark and pulsing. they are really locked at this point. page and trey start using other effects and the space journey begins.
12:30 - definitely in F# mixolydian now. trey keeps alternating between some soloing and strumming a little line. F#sus resolving to F#.
14:00 (about) - turns into Emajor F#major chord progression. reminiscent of where the jam started.
14:40 - trey starts playing a chord progression that is just like the mikes song build up but resolves to a major instead of minor D - E - F# all major chords... right at the end of this i hear trey start to tease norwegian would but then he doesnt...
15:30 - page starts playing a rhythm that trey picks up on this builds to probably the best part of the jam... page gets damn funky and mike takes it to another place harmonically... although for a while the key center is not really defined. eventually it lands in a quasi Ebmajor with some #5s and b5s. page playing an acceding chromatic line (5th, #5, 6, b7) very cool. trey keeps trying to pull it back to standard noodling at times... but the rest of the band keeps him in check... its not time to run through all your signature licks yet, trey...
19:40 - things start to pick up... then drop way down and get a little weird with trey whammying some space noises. eventually goes to a little repeating line b5-5-root in Eb... starts to build
21:50 - was sure trey was going to pull the rip chord on this at this point... but then page and mike and fish all start to get into something pretty cool... so trey just starts putting some sound fx ontop of it... pretty cool.
24:00 - quite. serene. floating in outer space. another big synth drop. pulsing with background ambiance. eventually lands in C#major (kind of) and ends naturally.

amazing. my only complaint about some of the longer jams is that they never come back up... the last 15 minutes is just a long fade out. theres lots of great stuff to enjoy during that fade out... but coming back up to a peak out of that would have really done it for me… to answer our important questions… yes it is as good as everyone says and in this case the length makes it happen. i would also like to mention that i felt about 3 drops of rain during cdt.

LIGHT. always reminds me of 2009. and this is probably my favorite jam of the night. and just like CDT it very quickly begins to drift from the typical light formula... 5:30 begins modulation to Bmin and by 6:00 we are in Bmin... which very quickly modulates to the relative major (D) and 6:41 we don't just get a tease of St Thomas, trey plays the whole melody. very nice. some unsure playing in there for a minute, figuring things out, some back and fourth key change ideas between page and trey trading lines. at 8:20 mike plays the dear prudence progression and trey and page immediately jump on it... and awesomeness ohhh yeah... HEY .NET! "DEAR PRUDENCE JAM" NEEDS TO BE MENTIONED IN THE SET LIST FOR THIS SHOW! or at least dear prudence tease by the entire band. its quite for a while but at 9:55 trey hits it hard and it goes back to the light pulse. trey starts hammer pulling like crazy... highlight of the show. then back into the dear prudence thing full on. DAMN! possibly best single song of the tour thus far.

TWEEZER was nice… very tweezery. the jam starts with some deep wah from trey reminiscent of some character zero solos… 6:45, fish has a quick metric modulation to a slow 6/8 feel. back and forth to that a couple of times… i kind of wish they ran with that and took it to a totally different place but whatever trey kept pulling it back to standard tweefunk. at 8:00 minutes we land hard in D major and trey play somethings that remind of segments of the transitions during tweezeppelin. at 9:22 a strong down beat groove with a standard trey chord idea builds and continues to build to a peak at about 12:55. very enjoyable this segment reminds me of a gin jam. and at 14:19 it hits hard again. really nice. ends with the tweezer theme gradually slowing down.

WADING was a nice break after all that. and MONICA is fun… i don’t dislike it as much as i did before i saw it live.

SLAVE was a great end to the set. not much more to say. trey nails the peak.
encore.
BDTNL has grown on my over the years…
TWEEPRISE obviously a great end.

and seriously .net lets get some kind of mention of the dear prudence tease/jam in light. it deserves a mention.

It doesn't get any better than this. Show #131 for me. Last two nights at Randall's were pure magic. Phish took us there. Randall's Island is the ideal summer Phish venue. Best place to see a NYC summer show. It was also awesome to be 15 minutes from the venue too. If Phish is reading this make note to always come back to Randall's.

Second night of a six-song second set. What is this? 1997? So sublime. 2013 was the shit, but now its getting even better. Thanks JEMP!

If you are skipping the delightfulness of this first set DONT! It was incredible from start to finish. I could simply have left the show satisfied after that first set..."We're done here!"...hopped on the ferry and headed home. I had no expectations for the second set.

And, then...the second set happened. There has been a lot of talk about the second set (so I'll save it) and it was INCREDIBLE. I'm just happy I was able to be there and take it all in. One happy Phan.

I'm not going to go into extreme detail as others have already done, but last nights show was phenominal, and i've seen many. Best first set in a long long time, and the energy was off the charts. First set on saturday was a train wreck, and this was sweet redemption. The second set was on a completely different level from anything the boys have recently played. There was not one person i saw at the show that was not having the time of their lives. What an amazing night, and the best Phish show i've seen in years. Also, I completely agree that Randall's should be a permanent NYC summer stop for Phish.

This review is about 3.0 Phish specifically. Excluding 3 set shows and holiday shows (and Magnaball's second day of course) ...this is easily the best 2 set show of 2014 and the entire 3.0 era. Sand, Winterqueen, and Reba is my personal favorite first set opening sequence I've ever heard. The classic Phish hits just kept rollin (Water in the Sky!, Runaway Jim!, Maze!) before Split Open and Melt appears and lures every listener down the psychedelic express way to crazy mind-blowing chanting town and back to Split before you can even say "Where the fuck am I?"
Before you know it, Chalkiest Torture appears and fucks everybody's world up for longer than that great ole Mississippi River!!! Then light appears and build to a crescendo that feels like you're caressing a new born Wombat who speaks your name for the first time before burrowing into a dirt nasty k hole commonly referred to as Tweezer! This tweezer is like Gods great gift to America (Make America Great Again!, before Phish destroys it....), quite similar to the Boston Tea Party, before Wading in the Velvet sea puts everyone in a trance for 8 minutes. All of the sudden!; sing monica rocks harder than a giant panda guerrilla dub squad!! Then the majestic slave to the traffic light slips you an ambien that hallucagenically lures you to sleep before a raging backwards down the number line and muddafukin Tweeprise!!! wakes you up at 6 a.m. sharp while crushing what remains of everybody's balls off!
Phish wins again now and forever, amen.

I got completely hooked up Sunday night. My buddy Corey insisted that I not miss this Sunday at Randall's. A truly great guy I only met last year who plays lead in a LI band called Moondawgs took care of my ticket ( THANK YOU ) Chilled briefly in the lot then cruised into the show and took in the great atmosphere. I had the honor of going to the Hartford Civic Center show last fall, but I hadn't been to this kind of Phish party since Camp Oswego many many moons ago. The beer of the borough's was right up my alley. I think I'll go with the Staten Is wheat as my winner in a very tough competitive field of great beer. Kudos to all the brewers! Then the other 'brewers' took the stage and started me off so right with 'Sand'. We positioned ourselves to the left of the sound tent where I enjoyed my first 'Winterqueen', I like the guitar playing in this song. Then smiled HUGE with everyone else for that 'REBA'. 'We're not worthy!" 'BOAF' is a personal fav, so happy & I was losing it . 'Water In The Sky' was a command by the brewers to hold the rain till later while this potion fermented some more. 'Possum' was a blast as always, and mid-set too. Then I ran into some great old friends from my childhood as the 'Runaway Jim' started up. So glad I got to see them during this song, it made our reunion that much sweeter. Then we 'Bounced @', got stuck in a 'Maze', and F'n 'Split Open and Melt'ed big~time on the concrete to the side of 'The Chairman of the Boards'.
{Set Break} I walk really fast, so I found myself back at the Beers of the Boro's quicker than the 2 step fwd & 1 to the side staggerers @ me
2nd Set... WOW! 'CDT' never ended, I can't believe I'm hearing this! Actually, yes I can believe it, it's a Sunday on an Island, and these ALIENS are firing off lasers into all our skulls! The next thing I know I'm going toward the 'Light' with Carolann.
"Yes children, come into the light! This island is cleaned."
A very phriendly crowd anchored down with numerous blankets let me pass to the front. I got pretty close for that beautiful 'Tweezer' - closest I'd been since being up front at Camp Oswego. I was really happy they let a big old guy pass to the front like that. I met some very heady pholks who greeted me KINDly - thank you very much
We swayed and hugged, and I totally got in the friggin' freezer! I 'Waded' with my new phriends in the 'Velvet Sea' for a while, and eventually made my way out during 'Sing Monica'. I got back to my original spot for a glorious 'Slave'. Yeah, that's how you do it!
I definitely felt like I was riding 'Backwards Down The Number Line' all night, and then I had my Tweeprise!
We got off the island and onto Manhattan in short time actually. All the way to midtown and into the room before the rain hit. We popped a few more brews and couldn't stop discussing the show. Thank you Phish for another great time!

Great night. Superb venue. I was right in front of the stage, completely clear-headed. I felt I really understood the decisions the band made. Sand was a gutsy funky opener but they didn't want to burn out. Went into Winterqueen, which was pleasant and mellow. The sky was cloudy and there had been a brief shower prior to the show beginning. They wanted to wake back up with a good challenge so they did Reba, they seemed to decide this after a bit of conversation. Reba probably also seemed like a good idea because it has a definite ending. We got 2 animal songs back to back, which made me think of Noah's arc. Some people really freaked during Maze (and called Bowie, btw). The joke of Maze really made me chuckle. You can never get out! You can never get out! And then all of the sudden buddump buh dump dump dump you're out! Split clicked for me on another level. During this song, the band exchanges complex packets of information. This seemed to really contrast with Tweezer, where the information is not as complex yet still JUICY.

I was able to sneak off from the front to grab an egg roll and use the bathroom between sets. The crowd was calmer and thinner than prior nights where I had just had to hunker down between sets. CDT is a special song for because last summer I always played it while driving for work. Trey seemed to be searching for something and fiddling with peddles and I expected a ripchord at any moment. He and Page went into this thing where they do long soothing drone tones, which I think is meant to calm Trey down. Light appeared to be a (successful) attempt to focus things and have some vocals. When things were focused, they went into Tweezer, which was super funky. There was a great break which I dug. Some serious crowd craziness during this. Things were getting kind of tense.

Velvet Sea took the intensity of Tweezer and channeled it into a ballad. I feel that ballads are a great moment for the band, but personally, not always my favorite moment as a listener. Sing Monica is truly a triumph of the Wingsuit Era. They've written a song as good as something The Wedding Present could write. It's a vibrant song full of fun. Slave signified to me that the set was ending, which was kind of a bummer.

BDTNL was perfectly appropriate. They seemed to want to play it, which was fine by me. At Tweeprize, I was hoping for a YEM or Fluff afterwards. Don't know if that was possible on any level, but I was sad the show ended. Quick walk of the 103rd St. Bridge back to Manhattan. Good stuff.

Despite the fear of rain, Phish phans flocked to Randall's Island for the third night of the band's three show run. After rocking the first two shows, the band brought their best material for their final NYC performance of the summer.

For the first time ever, Phish opened the show with "Sand," a funky good time jam with excellent soloing from Trey Anastasio. Getting loose and feeling good, the band played the song "Winterqueen" from the new album Fuego (read the album review here), a mellow, dreamy number. Then, they dropped "Reba." Again, great guitar-work from Trey, in what is easily one of the best compositions in the Phish repertoire.

A punchy "Birds of a Feather" led into "Water In The Sky," despite the delightful absence of water in the sky. The cheery sing-a-long engaged the audience, keeping us on our toes throughout the long build-up into "Possum." This was one of the longer jams of the first set, which ended with an intriguing slowed down section.

Trey then hit the chords for another animal favorite, "Runaway Jim." The song was relatively tame (considering this song has lasted an hour during particularly psychedelic renditions), but rocked Randall's nonetheless. "Bouncing Around The Room" provided the necessary mellow break before the final two monster songs of the set, "Maze" and "Split Open and Melt." "Maze" always builds an enormous energy, spiraling into a frenzy. This atmosphere carried into the finale, an otherworldly, meandering "Melt."

Between the Sand opener, Reba, Possum, Jim, Maze, Melt... this was a monster first set.

With the bar set so high, there was really only one song that could open the second set. The high energy, rock and roll fiasco that is "Chalk Dust Torture." This whopping version lasted a full 28 minutes and 27 seconds, with a soothing extended jam that flowed from theme to theme effortlessly. This single improvisational moment is the empirical evidence that the four band members can operate as one single, inter-connected unit. These guys were communicating on their own wavelengths, flowing and growing with each passing note. Definitely merits closer examination.

They kept things going with two more stellar jams, "Light" and "Tweezer." Again, the band firing on all cylinders. Flowing from song to song, idea to idea. It was a tremendous effort.

After three songs totaling nearly an hour, Phish slowed things down with a "Wading in the Velvet Sea." The much-needed break gave way to a new song, "Sing Monica," and the set closed with a traditional "Slave to the Traffic Light." Booming energy from the second set closer. Six song second set - my favorite alliteration.

Encore "Backwards Down the Number Line," a playful selection that launched into an uplifting guitar solo. Cap it all off with the ever-energetic "Tweezer Reprise," and you have yourself one fantastic Phish show.

The moral of this story: never miss a Sunday show. And for the record, it never rained on Randall's Island.

Set 1: Great music hampered somewhat by lack of any discernible flow, still probably one of the top few set one's of the tour so far though... Sand opener was fun, Winterqueen slowed things wayyyyy down (just the way things were last night). Reba's always welcome, and the Possum > Jim was a good time, but the real highlight of this set was the closing Maze and Melt.... Maze just dripped ominous from the first note, and Melt was a clear indication of what was to come; the second half jam saw the band gel in a way that they haven't really since the SPAC LxL, reaching that sublimely communicating, hyper-dimensional musical state where you just might believe your friend if they told you the band had pulled a Power Ranger and morphed into one giant being...

and then...

and then...

Chalk Dust > Light > Tweezer was most likely the best hour of music they've played since Dicks in 2012... 100% prime Phish. Wading brought everything to a halt but as usual it picked up somewhere near the halfway point. I would have preferred they skipped it and just did Monica, which continues to surprise me with how much fun it actually is, but at that point I was content with whatever the band wanted to throw at us. Slave was typically strong, reaching some excellent heights as the crowd basked in the glow of what was sure to be the set closer.

Great show. Well executed and very patient. Was excited to see what they would bring to the table the next show at CMAC (which is the only show of the tour I'd be attending) and worried they'd be a little burnt out after a 3 Night NYC stand. They most defiantly were not as CMAC was spectacular, but that is for another day. It should be noted that at the 8:14 mark in "Light" there is a "Mind Left Body Jam" tease. Excellent show. Grab this.. It is an outstanding example if you want to show somebody what 3.0 Phish is capable of. This also might be somewhat of a stretch but this Chalkdust is my 2nd favourite next to 1999-07-10 Camden.

Others have already posted excellent commentary on this show so I won't do a song-by-song rundown, but I'll just say this is one of the finest shows of the 3.0 era. The CDT>Light>Tweezer trio to kick off set II can go up against vintage Phish of any era, 3.0 or otherwise. That segment will be on my playlist for all time! Enjoy this one folks. Worth re-listening many times over.

After enormous thoughts follow the band's vision and dance in the sun, Phish embraces the LIGHT and finds some quiet crystal clear. Then Page and Trey briefly float through some Foam (with a couple of Golgi bubbles sticking to Trey before quickly popping). Inside the Foam, Mike and Trey realize that their Minds have Left their Bodies as they continue to fall into a deep well. Instead of a bottom to the well though, there is a glimpse of a rainBowie-colored Divided Sky, which leads into a double-door freezer.

Sand is a worthy opener, though not jammed Type II, and the remainder of the first set has a commendable setlist. Reba, Possum, Runaway Jim, Maze, and Split Open and Melt are all heavy hitters. The real story of this show happens to the Chalk Dust Torture > Light > Tweezer from Set II, comprising almost exactly 56 minutes of JAMS. However, not much here is all that memorable stylistically in the sense that a watershed year like 1997 would have you thinking of a specific jam for years to come--perhaps even to this day. The Tweezer to end the triptych is pretty peaky. I also like that Sing Monica appears in this set; it's one of my favorite newer Phish songs, predominantly due to the very clever lyrics. Backwards Down the Number Line makes an abbreviated appearance in the encore > Tweezer Reprise. This is probably a slightly over average-great show, mostly thanks to the breadth and depth of jamming on display, but the lack of truly time-honoured music makes me rate this one just a 4 out of 5.

So I did not read every review of this show so apologies if already mentioned. But why is the "Frankie Says" tease in Light not called out? 8:15 mark. Clear tease for 30 seconds or so. Needs to be added.

What an amazing 50 minutes of music. Amen. Just add the Frankie to the teases. Please.

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